Though AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan was moved to tonight’s SmackDown, there will still be a WWE Championship match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this Friday.
It was announced on SmackDown that Styles will defend his WWE title against Samoa Joe at Crown Jewel. The match was set up in storyline with Styles asking Paige to face Joe at Crown Jewel after Joe attacked Styles and Bryan tonight.
After Styles retained against Bryan, they were showing each other respect when Joe attacked them and put them in the Coquina Clutch. Joe then held up the WWE Championship.
In what appeared to be the end of their feud, Styles defeated Joe in a no disqualification, no countout match at Super Show-Down earlier this month.
Crown Jewel will begin at noon Eastern time this Friday. Here’s the updated card:
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Kane
Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar for the vacant Universal Championship
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Samoa Joe
World Cup tournament finals
World Cup tournament semifinals
Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins in a World Cup tournament first round match
Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler in a World Cup tournament first round match
Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz in a World Cup tournament first round match
Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton in a World Cup tournament first round match
SmackDown Tag Team Champions Cesaro & Sheamus defending against The New Day
With Daniel Bryan not traveling to Saudi Arabia for Crown Jewel, WWE explained the situation by moving his WWE Championship match against AJ Styles to tonight’s SmackDown.
Styles retained by reversing a submission hold into the Styles Clash and then tapping out Bryan with the Calf Crusher. The story of the match was Styles attacking Bryan’s left knee after Bryan “tweaked” it on a suicide dive.
As Styles and Bryan were showing respect to each other after the match, there was an angle where Samoa Joe attacked them and put them in the Coquina Clutch. Joe held up the WWE Championship as the segment ended. Later in the show, Styles defending the title against Joe was announced for Crown Jewel.
A confrontation between Styles and Bryan had opened tonight’s show, with Styles admitting that the Pele Kick he gave Bryan in their tag match against The Usos last week was on purpose. Bryan said he wanted to hit Styles, Styles asked what’s stopping Bryan and said he would defend the title tonight, and Shane McMahon came out to make the match official.
Smackdown, Mixed match Challenge and 205 Live are in Atlanta. Announced so far is Tony Nese vs. Mustafa Ali with the winner getting a cruiserweight title shot, Brian Kendrick vs. Jack Gallagher, Braun Strowman & Ember Moon vs. Jinder Mahal & Alicia Fox and Rusev & Lana vs. Charlotte Flair & A.J. Styles.
Roman Reigns opened the October 22, 2018 episode of Raw by revealing that he’s battling leukemia. After missing the weekend house show events, Reigns came out wearing street clothes and addressed the audience while using his real name. He announced that he’s been living with leukemia for the past 11 years, and unfortunately it’s back. Reigns then relinquished the Universal Championship.
The most in-depth look at the Roman Reigns battle with leukemia is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Look at what is known about his first bout with leukemia, walk through the weekend, the turns done this past week, what happened throughout the day on Monday, who knew what and what kind of word was going around, a look at his interview, and candidates for the company’s top spot position.
Also look at Crown Jewel and Evolution, including business notes on the Evolution show, Hulk Hogan and Crown Jewel.
Find out what is being talked about for the future of the WWE Network, including ideas for new content, new promotions, and a second tier
Also look at Daniel Cormier and WWE and what it’s all about, Cena book, more WWE injuries, next MSG show and why it’s so important, shows this week, and the Tegan Knox injury.
Examine the next month of NXT television, as well as a look at every house show from WWE and NXT from the past week with results, highlights and business info.
Read about the proposed Ben Askren vs. Demetrious Johnson trade, the valuation of ONE, and why UFC would do this regarding an existing lawsuit.
Look at the state of the NWA with its 70th anniversary show, including the Nick Aldis vs. Cody match, the aftermath, the rest of the show, the business notes and the NWA going forward.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
TUESDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
WWE will debut two new digital series tomorrow. The first will be a cooking show with Cathy Kelly called Talking Snack where she talks (and cooks) with WWE talent, the first being The Boogeyman. The other is called Baron Corbin’s Haunted World, where Corbin will investigate locations said to be haunted. The episode that premieres tomorrow will take a look at the St. Augustine Lighthouse in Florida, where ghosts of three little girls have been said to haunt the grounds.
Mark Henry spoke to TMZ Sports about WWE going ahead with their plans to run Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. When asked about Cena and reportedly Daniel Bryan pulling out of the show, he responded by saying “I wouldn’t never say that person is making the wrong decision. I would say that’s not the decision I would make. I would stand by my guns and do what’s best for business. I’m a firm believer in not leaving people out to dry, and I’ve done a lot of things in my career and in my life, my personal life, where I could say I’m not doing that. But there were people hanging in the balance and I didn’t want to screw those people over. So that’s the situation that this is in, our fans, they want to see you. You know, give our fans what they want.”
TMZ Sports also talked to Linda McMahon about wrestlers pulling out of Saudi Arabia. She denied knowing anything about the situation, saying “If you wanna talk WWE, you’re talking to the wrong McMahon.”
Vince McMahon was listed in Variety’s annual 500 most powerful people working in the entertainment industry.
Edge celebrates his 45th birthday today. Vince McMahon wished him a happy birthday on Twitter.
WWE uploaded a horror movie spoof on their YouTube page featuring Braun Strowman.
Buddy Murphy did end up getting his picture with Triple H after winning the Cruiserweight title.
Pro Wrestling
Jay Lethal reached a new record today with his ROH title run. He is now in second place for having the most combined days as Ring of Honor champion at 546 days. The only person in front of him is Samoa Joe, who held the title for 645 days.
EVIL had some words about facing Chris Jericho ahead of Power Struggle.
MJF vs. Puma King in a flag match has been signed for next week’s MLW show in Chicago.
DDT announced that Masahiro Takanashi, Akito, Maki Ito, HARASHIMA, Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo and Danshoku Dieno will be coming to New York for their WrestleMania weekend show.
Jimmy Havoc vs. Angel Cruz in a deathmatch has been made for OTT Redemption on November 10.
UFC/MMA
When asked by TMZ Sports who Ben Askren would face first in the UFC, Dana White didn’t get into specifics but said it would be someone in the top 5, citing his run as ONE’s welterweight champion. He also put over Demetrious Johnson, saying that he hopes he will be happier in ONE.
Meanwhile, Ben Askren is asking on Twitter why UFC hasn’t made an official announcement yet regarding the trade.
UFC 233 has been announced for January 26 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
The first and second episodes of UFC Embedded 230 is now up.
Combate Americas announced that an one night eight man tournament called the Copa Combate will take place on December 7 in Fresno, California. The winner will win $100,000.
According to PWInsider, WWE was making production plans at one point for AJ Styles vs. Bryan to take place at the Performance Center and air on the Crown Jewel broadcast — but the idea was dropped in the middle of plans being made yesterday. They wrote that all signs point to Styles going to Saudi Arabia, though no final decision as to how WWE would handle the situation had been made as of last night.
Tonight’s SmackDown at the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia is the go-home show for Crown Jewel. A segment where Styles will confront Bryan ahead of their advertised WWE Championship match at Crown Jewel is scheduled for tonights’ episode..
With the lineup for the tournament set after Bobby Lashley replaced John Cena, WWE has revealed the bracket for Friday’s World Cup tournament.
Seth Rollins vs. Lashley and Kurt Angle vs. Dolph Ziggler will be taking place on the Raw side of the bracket. On the SmackDown side, Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz and Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton are set for the first round of the one-night tournament.
WWE officially announced last Thursday that they were going ahead with Crown Jewel taking place in Saudi Arabia as scheduled. The show is being held at King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, with an hour-long pre-show starting at 11 a.m. Eastern time prior to the main card beginning at noon.
In addition to the World Cup, Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Kane, Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman for the vacant Universal Championship, WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Daniel Bryan (if Bryan appears on the show), and The New Day challenging for Cesaro & Sheamus’ SmackDown Tag Team titles are currently advertised for Crown Jewel.
It was announced during Raw tonight that Cena is out of of Crown Jewel’s World Cup tournament. In storyline, acting Raw General Manager Baron Corbin gave the spot to Lashley, who left Finn Balor laying after their match ended in a disqualification. Corbin said that Cena never qualified for the tournament to begin with, so he was taking him out.
Robbie Fox of Barstool.com originally reported last week that both Cena and Daniel Bryan were refusing to do the show. Bryan’s status for the show remains to be seen. WWE is advertising a segment for tomorrow’s SmackDown where AJ Styles and Bryan will be in the same ring ahead of their WWE Championship match at Crown Jewel.
WWE has garnered significant controversy about the upcoming show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They announced last week that they would continue on with their show after Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post who lived in Virginia, was murdered inside a Saudi consulate in Turkey by perpetrators who allegedly have ties to the Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Dave Meltzer and yours truly, guest co-host Garrett Gonzales, is back with a second Saturday/Sunday show featuring tons of wrestling discussion.
We take a look at the WWE Q3 financial report, the changing of the business, and what it means for the stock. We then talk about this Friday’s WWE Crown Jewel and compare it to 1991 when the company pushed forward with the Persian Gulf War angle leading into WrestleMania with Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter.
We then discuss Dave’s story in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter about Roman Reigns’ admission that his leukemia has returned and who is his successor as the top guy in WWE is if he doesn’t come back soon.
We discuss Sunday’s Evolution show and the over/under odds for star ratings, and what we have heard about the Jericho Cruise and some of the soon-to-be free agents on the trip. We finish up with Kevin Kay being out at Paramount Network, and the Demetrious Johnson and Ben Askren “trade” between UFC and ONE Fighting Championship.
Timestamps:
2:55 – 15:15: WWE Financials
15:15 – 19:44: NJPW weekend shows
19:44 – 30:56: Saudi Arabia, Roman Reigns
30:56 – 36:43: The next big star
36:43 – 40:57: WWE Evolution
40:57 – 49:09: Jericho cruise
49:09 – 52:25: Will Ospreay injury update
52:25 – 54:15: Wrestle Kingdom tickets
54:15 – 59:56: Kevin Kay out
59:56 – 1:06:38: UFC, ONE trade complete
1:06:38 – end: Ted Turner/WCW/NWA history
In an interview with TMZ Sports, Ronda Rousey defended WWE’s decision to move forward with Crown Jewel taking place in Saudi Arabia.
In her defense of the decision, Rousey spoke about the positive impacts she thinks the event could have. She discussed being an Olympian and how she believes sports can bring people from different cultures together. She wasn’t asked about and didn’t mention the promotion WWE did for Saudi Arabia on the Greatest Royal Rumble broadcast or the specifics of WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority.
“I’m a two-time Olympian, so I’m an idealist when it comes to sport. And one of my favorite memories from the 2004 Olympics was — I was in the gym and I was on the treadmill and I was cutting weight and I was running and right next to me was a boxer from Iraq and he was running next to me. And it was the beginning of the Iraq war, and nowhere else in the world would some man from Iraq and a little girl from Venice Beach be respecting each other and sharing space,” Rousey said.
“I think that sports is where we really find that common ground with each other, and I think that pulling out of the Crown Jewel would be the wrong move — because I think that this is an opportunity to be able to share our cultures and define what we have in common. And in times, especially when — times of adversity between two countries, that’s the absolute wrong time to be able to pull away. I think that’s the time for us to be able to find what we have in common and be able to understand each other more.”
Later in the interview, Rousey expressed optimism that, despite her and the rest of the women’s division not being able to wrestle at Crown Jewel, women will be able to wrestle in Saudi Arabia in the future.
“I think if we have WWE become big in Saudi Arabia, and WWE is the company that is having all-women’s pay-per-views — I mean, if you have the WWE Network, you can see Evolution and you can see Crown Jewel, you know. So if you’re going to buy the all-men’s pay-per-view, you’re going to have access to the all-women’s pay-per-view. And so it’s just exposing people to all the different things that our culture has to offer,” Rousey said.
“And I think that those are just the baby steps of how you get people to start demanding those kinds of things. They’ll be like — yeah, the women can’t compete in Saudi Arabia right now. But if the Crown Jewel is a huge success and WWE really takes off in Saudi Arabia, they are going to be demanding to see the women soon.”
While noting that they faced a “very difficult decision” after Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered at Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Turkey, WWE officially confirmed yesterday morning that Crown Jewel would go on as scheduled in Riyadh on November 2.
WWE hasn’t given an update on whether or not John Cena and Daniel Bryan will work Crown Jewel. Dave Meltzer wrote in yesterday’s Daily Update that Cena is still off the show as of now.
Rousey’s full interview with TMZ Sports is available to watch below:
The company’s statement: “WWE has operated in the Middle East for nearly 20 years and has developed a sizable and dedicated fan base. Considering the heinous crime committed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, the Company faced a very difficult decision as it relates to its event scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh. Similar to other U.S.-based companies who plan to continue operations in Saudi Arabia, the Company has decided to uphold its contractual obligations to the General Sports Authority and stage the event. Full year 2018 guidance is predicated on the staging of the Riyadh event as scheduled.”
WWE has avoided mentioning Saudi Arabia on television over the past two weeks. Crown Jewel is set to take place at King Saud University Stadium, with Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Kane, the eight-man World Cup tournament, Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar for the vacant Universal Championship, AJ Styles defending the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan, and The New Day getting their Tag Team title rematch against Cesaro & Sheamus announced.
UPDATE: On today’s earnings call, WWE didn’t elaborate further on their decision. Vince McMahon said they weren’t going to talk about it a lot and called it a “very sensitive subject.” He deferred to the statement that WWE issued.
Hulk Hogan said in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel this week that he is “looking forward” to working with WWE in the future.
“There are a lot of plans in the works,” Hogan said. “I’m looking forward to going to Saudi Arabia with the WWE, looking forward to WrestleMania — but yeah, we’re moving forward at a rapid pace. It’s exciting to have this opportunity again after all these years where I was there and gone.”
Hogan resurfaced in WWE back in July, holding a backstage meeting with the locker room at Extreme Rules where he talked about his situation. WWE announced at the time that he had been reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame after being removed and fired from the company in 2015 after using racist language in leaked audio. WWE noted then that Hogan wasn’t under contract, and he has not been brought in for any appearances on television.
A SmackDown tag team title match has been added to next week’s Crown Jewel event.
The New Day will have a chance to recapture the titles as they will face The Bar in a rematch from last week’s SmackDown. The finish to that match had The Big Show come out and attack the New Day, which allowed The Bar to pick up the win and the titles.
It was then announced tonight on SmackDown that The New Day would get their rematch at Crown Jewel. A match between Kofi Kingston and Big Show followed. Show dominated, laying out Kingston with three chokeslams. He was going for a fourth when the rest of the New Day came in and attacked Big Show for the DQ. However, they were no match for the new trio, as they were quickly laid out.
Crown Jewel is scheduled to take place on November 2 at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With Roman Reigns revealing his leukemia diagnosis and taking a leave of absence, WWE will be crowning a new Universal Champion at Crown Jewel.
It was announced on tonight’s Raw that Braun Strowman will be facing Brock Lesnar in a match for the vacant title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 2. Strowman and Lesnar were originally scheduled to challenge for Reigns’ title in a triple threat match.
Paul Heyman made an appearance on Raw tonight. He sent his thoughts and prayers to Reigns before cutting a promo to build up the Universal title match at Crown Jewel. Strowman interrupted Heyman and said he’ll defeat Lesnar. Strowman said he’ll bring the Universal title to Raw every Monday, and when Reigns beats leukemia, he’ll be first in line for a title shot.
The segment ended with McIntyre running out and hitting Strowman with the Claymore Kick.
Here’s the updated card for Crown Jewel:
Triple H & Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker & Kane
Braun Strowman vs. Brock Lesnar for the vacant Universal Championship
WWE Champion AJ Styles defending against Daniel Bryan
World Cup tournament (John Cena, Kurt Angle, Seth Rollins, Dolph Ziggler, Jeff Hardy, Randy Orton, The Miz, and Rey Mysterio)
We’re looking for reports on tonight’s Raw show in Bangor, ME and NXT show in St. Augustine, FL to [email protected].
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS TOURNAMENT FROM HIROSHIMA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD (Up on tape delay today)
Tiger Mask & Jushin Liger vs. Bushi & Shingo Takagi
ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado
NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING ON AXS TV TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi for Never Open weight title
Tetsuya Naito vs. Minoru Suzuki
MLW FUSION ON BEIN SPORTS TONIGHT AT 8 P.M. EASTERN
Barrington Hughes & Kotto Brazil vs. Samu & Lance Anoa’i
El Hijo de L.A. Park vs. Sammy Guevara
Shane Strickland vs. Tom Lawlor
CMLL FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN TONIGHT ON THE MARCO CLARA FACEBOOK PAGE
Pegasso & Stigma vs. Cancerbero & Coyote
Diamante Azul & Mistico & Valiente vs. Dark Magic & Felino & Negro Casas
Copa Halcon Suriano Cibernetico match: Angel de Oro, Black Panther, Blue Panther Jr., Niebla Roja, Stuka Jr., Dragon Rojo Jr., Espanto Jr., Luciferno, Misterioso Jr. and Templario
Blue Panther & Black Warrior & Euforia & Panterita del Ring vs. Cuatrero & Forastero & Mascara Ano 2000 & Sanson
Caristico & David Finlay & Penta 0M vs. Rush & Cavernario & El Terrible
PWG TONIGHT FROM THE GLOBE THEATER IN LOS ANGELES
Flamita vs. Rey Hours vs. Puma King
Brody King vs. Timothy Thatcher
Trevor Lee vs. Darby Allin
Rey Fenix vs. Bandido
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hechicero
Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. LAX for PWG tag titles
Walter vs. Jeff Cobb for PWG title
We’re looking for reports on Saturday’s WWE Super show in Hartford, CT (all the Smackdown crew, plus Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Ronda Rousey, Braun Strowman, Roman Reigns and Alexa Bliss) and the Raw show in Portland, ME (headlined by Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler), as well as the NXT show in Venice, FL to [email protected].
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS FROM EHIME ON SATURDAY ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Chris Sabin & Kushida vs. Soberano Jr. & Volador Jr.
Sho & Yoh vs. Robbie Eagles & Taiji Ishimori
PFL MIDDLEWEIGHT AND WELTERWEIGHT PLAYOFFS SATURDAY ON NBC SPORTS NETWORK AT 9 P.M. EASTERN TIME
Middleweight bouts: Abusupiayn Magomedov vs. Gasan Umalatov, Bruno Santos vs. Sadibou Sy, John Howard vs. Shamil Gamzatov, Louis Taylor vs Rex Harris
Welterweight bouts: Ray Cooper III vs. Jake Shields, Rick Story vs. Handesson Ferreria, Magomed Magomedkerimov vs. Pavel Kusch, Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Bojan Velickovic
Sunday has a Super show in Boston with the entire Smackdown crew including Daniel Bryan, Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio, plus Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Ronda Rousey and Alexa Bliss.
Raw is Monday from Providence, RI. There is also a Smackdown house show Monday night in White Plains, NY.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON MONDAY FROM SHIMANE ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Volador Jr. & Soberano Jr. vs. Taiji Ishimori & Robbie Eagles
Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Sho & Yoh
Tuesday has Smackdown, 205 Live and Mixed Match Challenge from Newark, NJ with MMC bout of Bobby Roode & Natalya vs. Finn Balor & Bayley and Jimmy Uso & Naomi vs. Miz & Asuka plus 205 Live bouts with Mike Kanellis vs. Lince Dorado and Hideo Itami vs. Mustafa Ali in a falls count anywhere match.
NEW JAPAN BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS ON TUESDAY FROM TOTTORI ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
Robbie Eagles & Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado
WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia has always been a bet that the overwhelming financial rewards would outweigh the inevitable public relations damage that it brings. With it so overtly going against the women’s evolution messaging that the company is promoting, WWE entered into the 10-year agreement with the knowledge that there would be backlash. But that was a controversy that would mostly exist inside the wrestling bubble.
A detailed look at how the problems with Saudi Arabia affect WWE’s 11/2 show is the lead story in the new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Read about the crowd reactions, John Layfield’s television appearance, the different stages of reaction, the profit margin of the shows this year and next, and reaction of some senators.
Look at the issues with UFC and Khabib Nurmagomedov coming after UFC pulled Nurmagomedov’s teammate off the company’s next show, as well as where Nurmagomedov stands in popularity, and what is next for him.
Find out about the NXT U.K. television deal and how it went down, Kevin Owens injury update, ticket sales for Evolution, next PPV cards from WWE as well as major house show cards, and what FOX is looking for out of the wrestling product.
Also look at the WrestleMania main event, what happen at Smackdown, WWE signs 7-foot-3 basketball player, WWE cuts three wrestlers, this week’s schedule as well as a look at the most-watched shows on the WWE Network.
Find out about Eddie Alvarez signing with ONE and their financial information.
Look at the game changing team DAZN signed with Canelo Alvarez and how this changes the economics and culture of fight sports.
This issue has a huge feature on the life and times of Don Leo Jonathan, his legacy, his biggest matches, his title history around the world, his world titles, shoots, comparisons to modern wrestles, praise from other wrestlers and more.
Read full coverage of both the good and the bad of Bound for Glory, with business and other thoughts on the show, plus match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results. Also look at surprises for the show that fell through.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to Dave Meltzer, or by using PayPal directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $13 for 4 issues, $32 for 12, $61 for 24, $101 for 40 and $131 for 52. In Canada and Mexico, rates are $14.50 for 4, $35 for 12, $67 for 24, $111 for 40 and $144 or 52. In Europe, you can get the fastest delivery and best rates by sending to [email protected]. For the rest of the world, rates are $16.50 for 4, $44 for 12, $85 for 24, $141 for 40 issues and $183 for 52. If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order (P.O. Box 1228, Campbell, CA 95009-1228), you can get $1 off in every price range.)
If you are a new subscriber ordering 24 or more issues, you can choose one free classic issue or two free classic issues with a 40-issue subscription.
FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE
WWE
Saudi Arabia state media has confirmed the death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who wrote for the Washington Post. They said that an altercation between Khashoggi and those who met him inside the Saudi consulate in Turkey led to his death. Crown Jewel is scheduled for November 2 in Riyadh.
Today’s Super Junior Tag League matches in Hiroshima had Tiger Mask & Jushin Thunder Liger (2-1) defeat Shingo Takagi & BUSHI (2-1) and ACH & Ryusuke Taguchi (1-2) defeat El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru (1-2).
Here is the poster for the Pro Wrestling All Stars Battle on February 19. It will feature a retirement ceremony for Abdullah the Butcher, who hasn’t wrestled since 2010. Stan Hansen will also be in attendance as a special guest.
ROH has begun announcing matches for next month’s Global Wars tour. Jay Lethal, KUSHIDA, Chris Sabin & Jonathan Gresham vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) is set for Lewiston, Maine on November 7, The Young Bucks vs. KUSHIDA & Sabin vs. Lethal & Gresham vs. The Kingdom (Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) will be taking place in Lowell, Massachusetts on November 8, KUSHIDA vs. Gresham vs. Flip Gordon vs. BUSHI is set for Buffalo, New York on November 9, and Lethal will defend his ROH World Championship against Kenny King in Toronto on November 11.
David Starr vs. Tomohiro Ishii has been added to the 11/9 Rev Pro Uprising event in York Hall. The match was made after Starr issued a challenge to Ishii.
The Rock’s Jungle Cruise movie has been pushed back to July 24, 2020.
Dana White on if he would want to rebook a Nate Diaz/Dustin Poirier bout: “I’m not interested in making a Diaz fight until Diaz is just absolutely dying to fight. When he’s ready to fight he’ll let us know.”
Speaking of Poirier, he mentioned on his Twitter account that he will not need surgery and will recover in three weeks.
Nate Diaz on Poirier: “This guy mysteriously pulls out [with] no injury and it’s crickets from from the whole roster? I’m going back out on tour till the game mans up .. Shoutout to @GamebredFighter hes down respect.”
White also mentioned in an interview with ESPN that if Georges St-Pierre wants to challenge Khabib Nurmagomedov, he’d have to go through a ranked contender first.
MSG Networks announced this morning that a three-part series called “Weidman’s World” will air on their network. It will feature his training prior to his 11/3 UFC 230 bout, which was originally supposed to be against Luke Rockhold.
Jorge Masvidal had some words for Leon Edwards, who he will face on the 12/29 UFC show.
With the apparent link to the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey while at the Saudi Arabian consulate, the WWE has become under fire for doing the 11/2 Crown Jewel show in Riyadh.
While there was talk about backup plans and monitoring the situation, at press time the show is a go, and tickets were to be put on sale on 10/19 for the show at King Saud University Stadium. The move from King Fahd International Stadium to the smaller King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh for the Crown Jewel show had nothing to do with popularity or ticket sales (which hadn’t even started) but because the larger stadium was up for renovation.
It appears that WWE is taking the approach that they have a deal worth $450 million or so, over ten years, that they would breach by not doing the show, and that, as is almost always the case with Vince McMahon, what is going on in the real world doesn’t matter since McMahon only knows one world, which is the one he usually almost fully controls.
All four Raw wrestlers have been confirmed for WWE’s World Cup tournament.
Seth Rollins and Dolph Ziggler won their qualifying matches on tonight’s episode of Raw, with them joining John Cena, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, and Randy Orton in the lineup for the tournament.
As the storyline of dissension between Dean Ambrose and The Shield continued, Rollins defeated Drew McIntyre by countout and Ambrose lost to Ziggler in their qualifying matches on tonight’s Raw. Cena was announced for the tournament last week, Angle dressed up as “The Conquistador” and won a battle royal, Hardy defeated Samoa Joe, and Orton defeated Big Show.
The remaining two spots on the SmackDown side will be filled tomorrow. Two qualifying matches are set for the episode, with Rey Mysterio facing Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev taking on The Miz.
The World Cup tournament will be held at WWE Crown Jewel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 2.
